Black Drum Images- A Pictorial

Black Drum.

Thanksgiving blessings to all. The holiday lies a few hours off. To central Florida fly fishers that should mean black drum begin appearing on shallow flats of the Banana River Lagoon.

We sight fish for these brutes, using seven-weight (some folks like more rod) fly rods with such flies as black Clouser Minnows, black bunny leeches, or Merkin crabs in brown. My preference is for size two hooks. a 1/5oth ounce lead eye. Weed guards are essential.

First you search for the fish. There are no guarantees you will find them. Sometimes it’s a long day, lots of water covered, nothing to show for it.

black drum

Searching for black drum in the Banana River Lagoon.

Sometimes, though, you hit the jackpot.

black drum image

John Thompson with a big black drum.

The best days for them are warm and sunny with little or no wind.

black drum image

The first time Barry Kent fished with me he got this black drum.

The water is cold though. You need waders unless you’re tough.

black drum

Greg Ritland fights a black drum.

Many moons ago I brought one of my students, a seventh grader, fishing there. He had a brand new fly rod. This is the first fish he caught with it.

black drum image

Matt Van Pelt broke in his new fly rod with this fish. He’s in his thirties now.

No one will mistake these fish for a bonefish or a rainbow trout. But they are probably the largest tailing fish in North America, reaching sizes over 100 pounds.

black drum image

It’s a face only a fisherman could love,

My good friend Rodney Smith and I had a banner day on drum one time.

black drum

Rodney Smith, when he had time to go fishing.

Another good friend, Rick DePaiva, has had more luck there than anyone else I know.

black drum image

Ricky D with one of the many big black drum he’s taken there.

 

black drum

This was the first fish we saw this particular morning.

 

black drum

We photographed the daylights out of this fish, taking advantage of a good fish and great light.

 

black drum release

We took several more fish this day, but this was the best one.

 

Black drum should be on the flats until about Easter time. Make some time to get out there and pursue these unusual fish.

 

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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A Short Walk Through the Woods- A Florida Photo Essay

A section of the Florida Trail passes by within a block of my house. I often go running along this two mile section, but today opted to carry a camera instead. The morning was awesome, with the exception of numerous spider webs in the face. I don’t like that!

Several deer and a red-tailed hawk were seen. A barred owl wondered who cooked the food? And I got the Florida photo essay below.

A trailhead along the way.

 

Carphephorus flowering along the path.

 

Carphephorus

Carphephorus, close-up

 

 

golden orb weaver spider

Spiders like this golden orb weaver build their webs across the path- beware!

 

lichens

These funny-looking plant things are a type of lichen.

 

beautyberries

The beautyberries are ripe now. While edible, they are not very tasty.

 

Mills Creek had water today. Sometimes it’s almost dry.

 

A palmetto leaf shows a study in shadow and light.

 

The Snook Tree offers a nice place to rest.

 

These are the nicest mud bridges I have ever seen.

 

monarch butterfly

A monarch butterfly sips some nectar.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Effective Slow Trolling for King Mackerel

King Mackerel, cocoa beach, fl

 

One of the true pleasures of living through the heat of a central Florida summer is spending time in a boat, slow trolling for king mackerel. When the weather cooperates and the fish are in tight to the beach you can be successful doing this from a johnboat.

Since kings prefer water temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, they don’t typically show in numbers in central Florida waters until April or May. When the word gets out that the kings have showed up, the parking lots at Port Canaveral fill up early.

Read the rest of this article here…

 

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Is This The Future of Fishing?

I wrote this back in 2007. It’s even more valid now.

An outfit called Osceola Outback Adventures now offers fishing for great barramundi, and I’m talking Holopaw, Florida here, not Australia. They say with pride, “This is the only place in North America where you can catch barramundi!”

I visited the barramundi ponds yesterday. There were two small, rectangular ponds that had been dug out with a backhoe. There were fish, lots of them, quite willing to eat lures, too. There were rods and reels. There was novelty. I’d never seen a barramundi before. They’re beautiful creatures, muscular and strong. There was entertainment. The fish, although only running eight to ten pounds at the moment (they’ll get much larger), fight hard and jump like crazed ladyfish. They are as game a fish as one could ask for. If you were going to design a fish you’d be hard pressed to do a better job.

But something about the experience bothered me, just a tiny bit. The nagging sense of irritation in the back of my mind was similar to that your foot gets when you get a diminutive pebble in your shoe. The experience, although undeniably fun, just didn’t fit me quite right.

Then I had a minor flash of insight. When you go fishing, you understand that you may not catch anything. You may not even see a fish. While fishing undeniably requires skill, luck is important, too. A terrible angler can have a great day, and a highly skilled angler can get skunked. “All men are equal in the eyes of a fish,” as Harry Truman once said.

The barramundi ponds remove luck and skill from the equation. Ten thousand aggressive fish scour the entire water column, jammed into two small ponds. If you cast a bait out there, you will catch a fish. You may not get one every cast, but you will get one on many of your casts. It’s a great place to bring the kids, just for that reason.

What bothered me, then? It’s not fishing as I know it. It’s sure thing, captive audience, pay-for-fishing, fishing. Is this a bad thing?

I have fished in Florida for more than 20 years. Back in 1985 you could launch your boat at 8:00 AM on a Saturday at any boat ramp you cared to (except when the clammers were working the Indian River) and could get a parking spot. You could go to almost any fishing spot you wanted to and would not be met by the two or even three boats that were there already. Obnoxious boaters would not be burning down a flat that people in 10 or 12 other boats were fishing.

There weren’t as many people here then. And there were a lot fewer boats.

I like solitude when I fish. It pains me to go fishing on weekends now. The water is crowded.

Rock concerts should be crowded. The county fair should be crowded. Parades should be crowded. Baseball and football stadiums should be crowded. Fishing spots? They should not be crowded. For me, fishing in a crowd causes stress and is not enjoyable. For me, fishing in a crowd is a bad thing.

At the barramundi ponds you pay, you fish, you catch fish. There are no crowds. It may not be fishing as I know it but it definitely has value.

Builders build golf courses like crazy but no one is making any new lagoons, or rivers. They can dig new ponds, though. They can stock them with thousands of fish. They can require us to pay before we fish them.

Only you can decide if this is good or bad for you. I can see more and more folks pursuing businesses like Osceola Outback, though, especially as our natural waterways get ever more crowded. I can see more and more sportsmen using them.

I’m beginning to experience some existential dread about this. Is pay-for-fish the future of fishing?

Please, let me know your thoughts on this.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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Mercury in Fish- Is That Fish Safe to Eat?

Mercury in Fish- Is That Fish Safe to Eat?

king mackerel

A big king mackerel- great to catch, delicious, and full of toxic mercury.

Health pundits on TV and in print are always telling us to eat more fish. Fish are good for you, they tell us. They’re high in protein, low in fat, and the fat fish contains is that desirable kind, omega-3. But, Is That Fish Safe to Eat?

Whether the seas can sustain all of us eating fish is a question to be dealt with another time.

What I want to know when I catch a fish I’m considering taking home is this- is that fish safe to eat? In a few cases, it’s not.

Most fish caught in Florida contains some mercury. According to the publication Your Guide to Eating Fish Caught in Florida, published by the Florida Department of Health, “for most people, the risk of eating fish exposed to mercury is not a health concern. However, developing fetuses and young children are more sensitive to the harmful effects mercury has on the brain than other people. As a result, women of childbearing age and young children should eat less fish than all others to avoid the higher health risks.”

How does mercury affect us?

Mercury comes in several forms. The form commonly found in fish is called methyl mercury. It damages the central nervous system, endocrine system, kidneys, and other organs, and adversely affects the mouth, gums, and teeth. It works its way up the food chain through bioaccumulation in the environment, reaching high concentrations among populations of some species. Larger species of fish, such as tuna or swordfish, are usually of greater concern than smaller species.

According to above-mentioned publication, Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, and Tilefish contain high levels of mercury. King mackerel longer than 31 inches or sharks longer than 43 inches should not be eaten at all, by anyone.

Most freshwater fish caught in Florida can be eaten without harm. Bream (such as Bluegill, Redear sunfish, Redbreast sunfish or Spotted sunfish) and marine fish such as Mullet, Snappers, Pompano, Flounder , and Dolphin are generally low in mercury. But some freshwater lakes hold fish with high levels of mercury. Check the Guide.

In general, for adults the benefits of one to two servings of fish per week outweigh the risks, even (except for a few fish species) for women of childbearing age, and that avoidance of fish consumption could result in significant excess coronary heart disease deaths and suboptimal neural development in children

For readers in states other than Florida, the EPA has a website that covers the same kinds of information. Visit it at http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/fishshellfish/outreach/advice_index.cfm

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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Fantastic! Orlando Fishing

Orlando! Most folks equate a trip to central Florida with Mickey Mouse and Shamu. These attractions and quite a few others make Orlando one of the world’s foremost tourist destinations.

There’s fantastic fishing around Orlando. Central Florida’s coastal areas supply some of the finest saltwater fishing Florida has to offer, and many of the area’s lakes and rivers supply world-class bass fishing. While the kids frolic with Goofy and Donald Duck, Dad can be hooked up with anything from a five pound largemouth to a 150 pound tarpon. Brief descriptions of the various options available to the visiting angler follow.

GREATER ORLANDO FISHING OPPORTUNITIES

Disney World itself is in the bass fishing business. Guided bass fishing trips are available on Disney’s Bay Lakes at by-the-hour rates. Angling pressure is light, and the action is generally fast with many sizable bass caught. Dave Burkhardt fishes here regularly. He told me it’s the only place you’ll ever catch bass that have these funny little mouse ears!

One of the best kept bass fishing secrets near Orlando is the Clermont chain of lakes. Twelve lakes connected by canals are so clean that they’ve been designated an outstanding Florida waterway supply plenty of room to fish and explore. In addition to the bass, bream and crappie are available. The scenery and wildlife are both wonderful, and are well worth the trip.

orlando fishing, orlando bass fishing

Bass like this one are common catches around Orlando.

East and West Lake Toho are well known for their fishing. Kissimmee sits right on West Lake.

The St. John’s River and its tributaries offer wonderful areas to fish. The river basin covers a lot of area to the east of Orlando. Largemouth bass provide a dependable year-round fishery, and there are all types of fish holding structure. There are several species of sunfish, locally called “brim.” During the winter, crappie supply plenty of action.

During January, February, and March light tackle fishing for shad is a very popular sport on the St. John’s River in the Sanford area.

FLORIDA WEST COAST FISHING
During May and June fly fishermen pay congregate at Homosassa, sightfishing  the crystalline waters for the greatest flyrod gamefish known to the inshore angler- the mighty tarpon. A few years back one of them caught the Big Mamoo, a 200 pound monster. Other fishermen want to duplicate the feat.

Orlando fishing, orlando tarpon fishing

Tarpon like this are available all along the Gulf Coast. Homosassa offers the biggest.

Homosassa has other fishing available. Redfish, seatrout, Spanish mackerel, cobia, and more are all available, some species year-round.

Homosassa lies to the west of Orlando. From Orlando driving time is about two hours.

FLORIDA EAST COAST FISHING
Central Florida’s east coast is where the visiting angler can really find him or herself some quality saltwater angling, often without the services of a guide. Sebastian Inlet State Park is regarded by many as the premier snook hole in the entire country. Jetty fishermen fling all types of lures as well as live bait to catch the linesiders, which often exceed twenty pounds.

Redfish, bluefish, tarpon, flounder, and seatrout are other species taken from the jetties, the adjacent beaches, or the flats on the Indian River Lagoon side of the inlet, where waders can have a blast, too. Sebastian Inlet is about an hour and a half’s drive from Orlando.

Those who like to surf fish can find beach access and some excellent fishing in the vicinity of Sebastian Inlet. Closer to Orlando both Satellite Beach and Playalinda Beach in the Canaveral National Seashore offer outstanding angling for the beach angler. Redfish, pompano, flounder, bluefish, and whiting are most often caught from Playalinda’s twenty plus miles of undeveloped, pristine beach. At Satellite Beach, snook, pompano, sheepshead, whiting, and sometimes Spanish mackerel and tarpon are all caught in the surf. Since these are public beaches, early in the morning on weekdays will  supply the least interference from surfers, bikinis, and other distractions.

Those wanting offshore fishing can find it at Port Canaveral or Ponce Inlet. Charter boats from the Port fish nearshore for kingfish, cobia, tripletail, and tarpon, while those venturing further out find action from dolphin, wahoo, sailfish, and even marlin. The same type of action is available from Ponce Inlet. Also, at both locations bottom fishing for grouper and snapper is available from either charter or partyboats. Finally, both the Port and Ponce Inlet have long rock jetties which attract all of the typical inshore fishes, and the fishermen who chase them.

My favorite area to fish is in the Indian River Lagoon System. The Lagoon, over 150 miles long, stretches from Ponce Inlet down to St. Lucie Inlet. The System’s three main components are the Mosquito Lagoon, the Indian RiverLagoon, and the Banana River Lagoon, which are separated from the waters of the Atlantic by a thin strip of sandy coastal barrier.

One unique thing about fishing in this system- unless you are near an inlet, tides have almost no effect on the fishing. There is no tidal water movement. You just go fishing!

There are many areas around Titusville for wading anglers to get access to some beautiful grassflats covered with crystal clear water and some excellent sightfishing for redfish which average up to ten pounds. Most of these are either in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge or the Canaveral National Seashore.

orlando redfish, orlando redfish trips, wading for redfish

Wading in the Mosquito Lagoon produced this redfish.

Dike roads in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge open up miles of wadable flats to the visiting angler. It’s entirely possible to fish both the beach and the Mosquito Lagoon in the same day. Information about the location of these dike roads is available from the Refuge headquarters, located on SR 402 east of Titusville.

In both Titusville and Cocoa you can rent kayaks and go paddle fishing on any of the three lagoons. And plenty of fishing guides offer their services here too.

Driving time to most east coast fishing areas is about an hour.

Why doesn’t Orlando have a reputation as a fishing destination? World class fishing awaits. The next time your family coerces you into visiting Disney World, bring your tackle and check it out. You will be most pleasantly surprised at Orlando’s fantastic fishing.

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

 

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